Chapter 78. Touch the Stars, a Bell Rings

Author's Note:

I'm sorry for being away for the past 10 days! I was a bit busy with ruining my life lol. To make up for it, I'll publish two chapters.

*****

It has been eight years since Lucilline Rubius was born.

He was a shy child, one who rarely ever spoken or opened his mouth. His pursed shut lips made the teachers exasperated, while the other children could only give up talking to him. Lucilline Rubius was a loner. He had no friends, and the world paled in contrast to his indifferent gaze.

"Let's go visit your mother's friend today, Lucy!" A cheery voice snapped the eight-year-old boy from his drifting mind. His pair of golden eyes reflected in a similar pair. Rachelle's cascade of inky black hair resembled her youngest son's, and her slender fingers intertwined in the latter's. "Your mother's friend lives nearby, and she runs a flower shop. She also has a daughter! Who knows, you two might get along!"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Lucilline jumped down from his seat and ran off.

"Wait— Hey, Lucy! Where are you going!?!" Rachelle's desperate cry sounded in the manor.

Meanwhile, Lucilline continued racing past the hallway. His small heels pitter pattered across the cobblestone floor like gentle droplets of rain, and the little boy hugged his stack of books to his chest.

A frustrated blush bruised his ears. I don't need a friend. He reassured to himself, his small hands clenching the cover of his books tighter. His knuckles burned white, appearing aghast like porcelain glass. I have brother and sister... who even needs friends... The eight-year-old child blew air into his cheeks, allowing his face to bloat up.

In the end, Lucilline ducked into his hiding spot—a secret abode made of blankets in his wardrobe. The black-haired boy hugged his knees, his stack of books piled by his side.

Lucilline lit up a light in his wardrobe, allowing his eyes to glaze over his books. The books were all focused on the history of Lydia Kingdom. His favourite one though centred around one of the most important figures—his mother.

He read that Rachelle; in order to save an entire orphanage of commoners; delved straight into a building of fire and helped the children all escape without a single death.

She was celebrated as the most beautiful woman, and has the purest heart in Lydia Kingdom.

The whole book was dedicated to the wondrous acts of Rachelle Rubius, and her journey in rescuing and helping commoners, despite the snide and spite that nobles often directed towards them.

Lucilline shook his legs. I want to be like mom.

Over the past three years, he had continuously ran away from his mother. Rachelle wouldn't stop trying to get him to hang out with other children! She tried to set him up with other children, constantly pestering him to gain friends.

However, Lucilline despised that.

He did not need any friends.

He was perfectly fine by himself.

"I've finally found you, Lucy!" All of a sudden, his secret tent was broken apart! His blankets were plucked off one by one, and Rachelle laughed victoriously.

The little boy scrambled up onto his feet, but was quickly captured.

Before he'd known it, Lucilline was already seated in a carriage.

*****

The trip outside Duke Rubius' manor was like a carousel, with racing white ponies circling in their magnificent slick manes. Lucilline could hardly believe his eyes. He rarely traversed so far away from home, but with his mother by his side, the trip mirrored a festive dream settling within the depths of his consciousness. Rachelle sowed a seed in his heart, and gradually, it began to flourish.

"Take a look at this, Lucy!" Rachelle strung him along, his little puny arm intertwined with her slender one. "Candy apples." Her liquid golden eyes splashed up a tide, engulfing Lucilline in her currents of joy.

Before he could react, a candy apple was shoved into the boy's hands.

Lucilline paused.

The candy apple was glossed over in sugar, reflecting a mirage of cracked lips and shattered panes. Its carmine red coating contrasted his pale skin like rouge lipstick smeared onto white daffodils, his small fingers tightly holding onto the hilt of the stick. Gradually, the knot in Lucilline's throat began to bob up and down.

He'd been fooled by the sweets.

Both mother and son explored the food market. Behind their trails, two of the household butlers looked after them with exasperated gasps.

"Taste good?" Rachelle asked.

Lucilline nodded vigorously. His mouth was stained with the candy apple's glossy coating, delicate petals of sugar gently nudging his lips. The sweet taste tickled the roof of his mouth, and the eight-year-old boy swung his legs back and forth upon the bench. The sun's dazzling rays reached over the tall buildings, casting shadows beneath those gigantic towers.

The black-haired boy took a bite in the candy apple, his teeth chewing upon the sweet snack. Rachelle savoured hers as well.

Their elongated lengths of obsidian black hair were like a silky dress, the long strands resembled cascading ink. Based on the two's attire, even commoners blinded by the sunlight's sharp glare could tell that they were noble. Crimson red ribbon, porcelain white pearls, and lustrous threads of lace. Additionally, with the two butlers standing guard behind their bench, their aura was too large to ignore.

"There are even more fun places to explore," Abruptly, Rachelle shot up from her seat. "Before we meet your mother's friend, let's go to the theatre!"

Her enthusiasm had overridden Lucilline's.

Quickly, the enthralled boy agreed.

The theatre was stormed of noble audiences, their gowns and suits embellished with luminous jewellery. Rachelle was by no means inferior. As the audience began making their way to their seats, the clicking of velvety heels upon the oak wood floorboards bombarded the dark dome. Lucilline hugged his mother by the arm.

He practically pressed his whole body upon Rachelle, but the latter merely shrugged it off with a stifled laugh.

As they reached their seats, a commotion imploded behind.

"Let go of me!" A hiss shrieked past the theatre.

"You need to leave, this instant." Instead, a demanding voice huffed. "Your seat is upstairs on the balcony. You have no right to sit in the area of nobles."

"I am allowed to sit wherever I want!"

Rachelle raised a brow, her expression clouded over by a dark mist that Lucilline could not fathom. Her sharp black heel clicked against the wooden floorboard, as the tall woman sat up from her cotton cushioned seat.

Mom? Lucilline wanted to grasp on the hem of her dress, but retracted his hand in the nick of time. His puzzlement had been left in the shadows.

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?" Rachelle lifted a hand upon her hips.

A rough-looking man was being dragged out of his seat, and the security guard treated him like a filthy bug who needed to be squashed beneath his shoe. The security guard grabbed onto the commoner's arm, leaving ugly bruises upon the rash skin.

"I am merely escorting this commoner to his rightful seat." The security guard huffed.

"There is no rule that states we commoners need to sit upstairs!" The rough-looking man argued. "When I purchased my ticket, I was promised to sit on the main floor!"

The security guard did not care, and continued to drag the commoner away.

"Wait!" Rachelle grabbed the guard.

Her grip was firm and calloused, resembling a frigid flower hanging on the edge of a cliff. The coldness beneath her hand seeped across from her black gloves, and chilled the guard. Goosebumps rose up from his arm, but he was unable to shove the noblewoman aside.

Lucilline watched this scene with awe.

"Whether we're commoners or noble, we both paid for the same ticket." Rachelle deadpanned. Her grip was like iron, clamping down the guard's arm.

Lucilline could hear creaking from the guard's bones. "Please allow this gentleman to take a seat on the main floor. Otherwise, I will head up to the balcony and see what this preferential treatment is like for myself." At times, the golden colour in Rachelle's eyes became icy cold, resembling less of the sunflowers and more of a panther's predatory gaze.

The guard could sense the danger beneath that pair of eyes.

In the first place, it was absolutely blasphemy to have a noblewoman sit where the commoners are! He would be in big trouble if the noblewoman happened to be from an influential family.

"...fine." At last, the security guard stepped aside.

He released the commoner's arm, revealing the plum purple bruise whipped across. The rough-looking commoner gasped for breath, pulling his cheap hat above his eyes. "Thanks..." He bowed. "I owe you one."

"No, you don't." Rachelle merely smiled before walking away, leaving the commoner in surprise.

Lucilline watched his mother with a curious gaze. Mom really is the best.

All of a sudden, the crimson red curtains were pulled apart. A large stage of gauze decorations and spectacular white towers stood almighty. Glass panes shone in the window frames of those towers–they were mirrors.

Sitting near the tucked curtains, an orchestra began to play.

The music was mellow and sweet, reminding Lucilline of the candy apples he ate earlier. Gradually, a line of ballet dancers twirled onto the stage. Lights flickered across their beautiful figures, and their lily white skirts lifted up like the wings of an elegant swan.

The theatre told the story of a mother and her son, who are on a journey to touch the stars. Despite being taught and reprimanded by society, the two humans yearned to go above land.

Lucilline hugged his mother by the arm.

He could feel her delicate fingers running across his scalp, gently massaging his strands of black hair.

On the stage, the son and mother danced past the mountains. Their pointed toes flicked, and their slender figures leaped high above, with candlelight imprinting their bodies in Lucilline's watchful eyes. A ribbon of green light shone in the ceiling–the aurora. The mother and son climbed up the mountain, arriving at the very top.

They could see a star hanging up above from the ceiling dome, its cutting edges razor sharp yet velvety smooth. Both mother and son held onto one another, their hands gripped tight, as they jumped off the steep mountain.

Lucilline held his breath.

To his shock, the mother and son levitated in midair, their hands outreached to the dazzling star and their spare hands holding onto one another.

Slowly, they raised to the same height as the star. A delicate touch.

The play ended there.

"Ahh, that was truly a spectacle!" Rachelle laughed. Joyous laughter heaved up from her slender figure. It was hard to imagine how that loud and carefree sound could come from such a beautiful woman.

Outside the theatre, Rachelle and Lucilline walked alongside the street stalls. "It was so moving!" The black-haired noblewoman squealed to herself, her delicately trimmed nails clenching into her palms. "The mother kept on protecting her son no matter the difficulties! She saved him from those packs of tigers, and even sang a lullaby to soothe away his fatigue!"

Lucilline hummed to himself. "But the son also encouraged the mother at times of desperation. When the mother was ready to give up, the son persevered to accomplish their dream. In the end, they managed to touch the star."

Rachelle was slightly stunned at his comment.

Slowly, her lips curved upwards.

"You are right, Lucy." She hung an arm around her son's thin shoulders, enveloping him in her warm embrace. "Lucy, you seem to really like this play."

"Yes, I do!" It was a rare occasion to find Lucilline so enthralled. The shy boy who always holed himself up in his secret tent could also become so engaged. "I really admire the mother and son in the play. I want to be just as strong as the mother, and as encouraging as the son."

Rachelle fell silent.

Her blank expression made Lucilline stagnate, his small body enshrouded by her shadow. "...mom?"

Before he knew it, Lucilline was enveloped in a tight hug.

"GOOD! GOOD!" Rachelle laughed aloud. "I will always support you, Lucy! If you try hard enough, you can definitely touch the stars too!" Her sudden peak of strength made the young boy cry out in pain, but it was a good type of pain.

It was a type of pain he'd do anything to feel again.

All of a sudden, Rachelle released him. The high-spirited young noblewoman rushed to a stall, her golden eyes clearly mesmerized by something. Lucilline rubbed his shoulders, trying to ease the pain from earlier. He then hesitated.

Rachelle eagerly paid for something, snatching it up from the stall, then danced back.

"TA-DA!" She shoved a bracelet in Lucilline's hands.

The eight-year-old boy: ???

He could not understand the beauty of jewellery, and even better... the bracelet he received was not even made of any gems...! Only a polished copper bell was laced upon black thread. Every sudden movement made the bell ring a glossy sound, sounding as clear as tapping glass. Rachelle merely tied the bracelet upon the boy's wrist, allowing it to ring several times in succession.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She cooed.

Lucilline hid all of his complaints, and agreed.